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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rule — government
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pitch — completely
  5. march — music
  6. firm — steady
  7. clip — a video
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — for paper
  10. board — a committee
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. board — to get on
  15. rule — a law
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bass — low music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. firm — a company
  23. bass — the fish
  24. firm — decided

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com